Said mode pits you into a full season, with multi-day and multi-stage races that take place right across the world over varying terrain. As such, the game calls not just for good driving skills--although they're understandably vital--but also a tactical approach as you adjust facets such as your gears, brakes and tyres to suit the forthcoming challenge.

And when it gets down to the action, World Rally Championship II Extreme delivers. It's presents an enthralling, if testing, series of races, which can also be run in multiplayer mode. Perhaps it's still a little way behind its main rival, the Colin McRae Rally series, but it's a genuinely enjoyable challenge for the more experienced rally game fan. It's less forgiving than Mr McRae for those new to the genre, but then this is a serious rally game for serious rally game fans, and they would argue it's all the better for it. It requires dedication, practice and persistence from those who beat it, but they'll certainly have got strong value for money by the time they get to the end. --Simon Brew